mental health

As results day in the UK looms for all the anxious teens awaiting their results, determining whether they get the right grades for their chosen universities, I’ve been thinking back on my own experience as a fresh-faced 18-year-old, eagerly awaiting their new life at university. That’s five whole years ago now! Where has the time gone?!

I grew up in Brighton, which as towns go, is a pretty great place to live. And I’m not saying that because Zoella and various other bloggers and YouTubers live there now, Brighton has always been pretty damn cool. And as much as I’ve always loved Brighton, was always super eager to get away and go up north for university. I’ve had a weird fascination with Manchester since I was about 14, and all because I was obsessed with a series that Sarra Manning wrote, about a girl from Brighton who’s parents relocated to Manchester at the start of her A Levels. (It’s the Diary of a Crush trilogy, in case you wanted to look it up. While they are well out of my age range now, I still hold these books close to my heart)

Anyway, back to my original point. I was so looking forward to starting university, and when I actually started, I was a bit… underwhelmed. Everyone talks about how their first year of uni was the most fun, it was so great and they wish they could do it all again if they could. I, on the other hand, had a very different experience. I consider my first year of university to be my least favourite, due to matters out of my control, but there could have been some things I could have done better. I’ve complied a small list of things I would have done differently.